Weegar, Toffoli excited for Flames future with Conroy as general manager

TAMPERE, Finland -- MacKenzie Weegar is fully on board with the hiring of Craig Conroy as general manager of the Calgary Flames.

Conroy was promoted from assistant GM on Tuesday. He replaces Brad Treliving, who the Flames announced April 17 would not return after nine seasons as GM.

"I think it's a great decision," the defenseman said while here playing for Canada at the 2023 IIHF World Championship. "Obviously, I found out and I think it's a great decision and a great move for the organization. I think he gets the game really well and he's an infectious guy. He wants to win, and he wants to have fun while doing it, and I think that's really important for Calgary."

Calgary (38-27-17) finished two points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference, one season after winning the Pacific Division and reaching the second round.

"I'm excited for him," said Flames forward Tyler Toffoli, who is Canada's captain at the Worlds. "He's obviously been around for a while. It's going to be a lot of fun.

"I think every time he was around he was bringing the vibe up in the room. Obviously, he's an excited guy. I think he was like that when he played too. I've got to know him over the past year and a half and he's been great to me. Hopefully we can kind of get things on track."

Conroy has deep ties to the Flames. He played nine of his 16 NHL seasons in Calgary, including the 2003-04 team that reached the Cup Final, a seven-game loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He moved into the Flames front office when he retired in 2011, and was assistant GM since 2014.

"I think that's important," Weegar said. "I think you need to play the game and understand the game and he's done that. He's got a great background full of hockey, and being behind Brad for so long, I think he's got a lot of experience. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do for this team and improve the team down the road here."

In conjunction with Conroy's promotion, the Flames hired David Nonis as senior vice president of hockey operations and assistant GM, named Brad Pascall vice president of hockey operations and assistant general manager and named Chris Snow vice president data/analytics and assistant GM.

"[Conroy] has put in a lot of work," Toffoli said. "He played a lot of games, and the past bunch of years he's been working and doing all the other stuff, seeing all the other side of the spectrum of the management side. I think he's deserved it and I think everybody is excited for him."

Conroy's hiring was the first piece of offseason business for the Flames.

Next is hiring a coach.

Darryl Sutter was fired May 1, and Flames president of hockey operations Don Maloney, who had been interim GM, said it would be the responsibility of the new GM to find a replacement.

Conroy said a more fun, more offensive on-ice approach would be a priority for Calgary. The Flames were 19th in the NHL this season with an average of 3.15 goals per game, down from 3.55 (sixth) last season, and the power play fell from 22.9 percent (10th) to 19.8 percent (tied for 19th).

"That's just winning culture, I think," Weegar said. "It's a lot of offense right now in the NHL, and I think he is right. I think there's more potential to be had with the team that we have to have more offense. There is room to have a little bit more fun. I'm looking forward to the culture he's going to bring and the character guys he's going to bring in.

"I know we're going to have a lot of fun next season."